


Regret

by iloveitblue



Series: Prompts [133]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Mention of abuse, like a really small part, maybe a sentence or two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 00:11:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2711864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveitblue/pseuds/iloveitblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Clint said no so Phil moves on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Regret

"What do you mean  _you said no_?” Natasha repeated just for good measure. Just so Clint could hear how stupid it was to reject the invitation of the object of his affections.

"I mean-" Clint sighed and buried his face in his palms. "I’m sorry, okay? I just- I panicked. And I- I said some things."

Natasha crossed her arms, “What things?”

"You know…  _things._ " Clint made a vague gesture with his hands, "But I didn’t mean them! I swear!" 

"What.  _things._ ”

Clint scrunched up his face at the thought of saying it out loud again, “I told him that he was delusional if he thought he had the slightest chance with me.”

"Clint-"

"I know. I know already! but I panicked. I didn’t know what to say and my mouth sort of did the sarcastic little shit thing it does when I get nervous! except this time it didn’t sound sarcastic. It sounded mean and horrible and he hates me now, I guarantee it. Any chance I might have had with him is-"

"Clint, breathe." Clint did. "Now, you need to fix this." Clint groaned and let his head fall back into the mattress. "Don’t groan at me. This is your own fault. You could be making out with him right now, instead you’re in my room and trying to look pitiful when you very well know its not working on me."

Clint sighed before he pulled himself back up in a sitting position. “I know.”

Natasha nodded quietly and let Clint stay in her room for as long as he needed to.

—-

Clint didn’t fix it.

No, that’s wrong. Clint wasn’t able to fix it in time.

Phil was dating a new guy.

Brian,  _he’s a surgeon._  Phil declared happily at the whole team. Brian had the audacity to look abashed when he shouldn’t be inside the tower at all. 

Puh-lease. What does Brian have that Clint doesn’t?

 _Well, for starters, he has Phil,_  the unhelpful voice in his head that sounded a lot like Natasha supplied.

Clint hissed at Brian in his head but smiled politely and shook his hand when Brian faced him.  _Stupid Brian and his stupid smile and his stupid doctorate. _Psshh._ Clint saves lives too. and he doesn’t need some fancy-shmancy degree to do it. _

—-

Brian didn’t last long with Phil. 

Clint didn’t cheer, that would be immature. He might have smiled a little at the news though. Which was probably not the reaction Phil had expected when he told Clint about it.

The archer cleared his throat to try and ease the awkward. It didn’t help. “So, do you want to talk about it?”

Phil smiled a little, clearly appreciative of Clint’s efforts to listen. “I guess he just wasn’t the one. You know?”

Clint huffed then shook his head because  _yes. Yes he understood._

"I just, I thought he was the one. I was so ready that I was blinded."

Clint frowned at that. “Blinded?” he parroted.

"Bruce was the one who pointed it out. Who told me to open my eyes. That Brian was hurting me." Phil rolled his sleeve up and unbuttoned the top of his shirt to show Clint his chest. In a normal day, Clint would be flushed at the sheer amount of skin in front of him, but such is the time, Clint just felt rage boiling in him.

Phil’s body was filled with marks and bruises. His wrists, his chest, his arms. The bruises stopped where Phil’s suit ended as well,  _To make it hard for anyone to notice_  the voice in Clint’s head supplied. Which explained why Bruce was the only one who saw it since he did monthly check-ups and surveys of the Avengers. 

Phil buttoned his shirt back up and rolled down his sleeves. He smiled bitterly at Clint. “I guess, I was just that desperate to move on from you. I disregarded what he was doing to me.”

Phil didn’t mean to guilt trip Clint. He knew that, but the thought that all of this could have been avoided, that he could have had Phil all this time… Clint wanted to punch himself in the gut more than he wanted to hurt Brian. And that was saying something.

"Phil, I-" Clint started, only to be interrupted by Phil shaking his head and smiling at him.

"You don’t need to say anything. I didn’t tell you that so you’d feel responsible for all of this. This is my fault. Not yours. I just-"

"No. Listen. I know you don’t blame me. But I’m sorry anyway. I like you. like a lot. For a very  _very_ long time now. I was- All those months ago, when you asked me out, I was- I panicked. I said things I didn’t mean. I was a jerk and you didn’t deserve any of it. I wanted to fix it, but you were already with Brian and I couldn’t do anything but let you go. I wanted to punch his fucking face in, the day you introduced him to us but I didn’t ‘coz I didn’t want to anymore reason for you to hate me.” Clint huffed. “Now though, after this. I  _will_  bash his head in.”

Phil smiled. “You don’t have to do that.”

"Yes I do. He hurt you."

"No really, you don’t. I already suckerpunched him." 

Clint laughed then, “Hey Phil.”

"Yes Clint?"

"Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?"

"You are delusional if you think you have even the slightest chance with me.” Phil grinned at him.

Clint flushed and groaned, “Oh god. I am never going to live that down, am I?”

"Nope." Phil made the ‘p’ pop. "Besides, if I’m going to go out with you it’ll be a funny story to tell, one day."

"So, that’s a yes then?"

"It’s a yes."

**Author's Note:**

> [Here on tumblr](http://promptmephlint.tumblr.com/post/104162771946/my-moms-hard-drive-is-dead-and-shes-freaking)


End file.
